: : : : : : : : Everything reminds me of a song. This reminds me of "The Sidestep" by Carol Hall as sung by the govenor (Charles Durning) in "Best Little Wh*rehouse in Texas" : ".Ooh I love to dance a little sidestep."

: : : : : : Does the school superintendent know of any changes that DON'T take place over time?

: : : : : That is a very good point.

: : : : It's been interesting to watch the biological changes over time in my children. They definitely consider that they constitute a more intelligent form of life. The unfortunate thing, of course, is that they are probably right.

: : : ::: The power of words is never more evident than when we talk about evolution. It's interesting that the theory was, of course, revolutionary when Darwin proposed it, and he used the term 'decent with modification' to describe the process. Evolution was a term applied to the process later on, and I don't believe he ever used that word to describe the process. Darwin's writings on the topic were extraordinarily well supported with examples and evidence, and he knew the powderkeg he was lighting. To think that now, in the 2000s, with all the examples of bacterial evolution to overcome the effects of antibiotics and other evidence we have, that this would still be so emotional an issue. We humans certainly change slowly.

: : Darwin would not have published his book but for the work of Alfred Wallace, who established the Wallace Line through the Indonesian archipelago. I understand that several of the popular terms were those used by Wallace.

: : Darwin; My work is now nearly finished; but as it will take me many more years to complete it, and as my health is far from strong, I have been urged to publish this abstract. I have more especially been induced to do this, as Mr. Wallace, who is now studying the natural history of the Malay Archipelago, has arrived at almost exactly the same general conclusions that I have on the origin of species.

: ::: Henry is spot on........ Darwin had been working on this for years, but was a real gentleman and allowed his initial paper on it to be published at th Royal Society along with Wallaces.
: It's fascinating to note that when Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" in 1859 the Bishop of Worcester's wife was most distressed. She is said to have remarked "Let us hope it is not true" -- "But if it is, let us pray that it does not become generally known" Unfortunately, that sentiment is still current now, 145 years later.

Did 'evolution' become a bad word when I wasn't looking? I hate that these things move so fast without me. And is 'evolution' confined to the biological?

Merriam-Webster:

4 entries found for evolution.

Main Entry: evo·lu·tion
Pronunciation: "e-v&-'lü-sh&n, "E-v&-
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin evolution-, evolutio unrolling, from evolvere
1 : one of a set of prescribed movements
2 a : a process of change in a certain direction : UNFOLDING b : the action or an instance of forming and giving something off : EMISSION c : a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state : GROWTH : a process of gradual and relatively peaceful social, political, and economic advance d : something evolved
3 : the process of working out or developing
4 a : the historical development of a biological group (as a race or species) : PHYLOGENY b : a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations
5 : the extraction of a mathematical root
6 : a process in which the whole universe is a progression of interrelated phenomena
Only Option 4 in this set of definitions, specifies biological. So this superintendent knows better?

Help me here. This superintendent wants to replace a perfectly suitable and function single word with four words that only describe part of the facts. Have I got that right???